Dr Ergun Caner May 14, 2011

He was born in about 1960. He grew up a devout Muslim in a devout Muslim family in Ohio, USA. He wore his Muslim attire to school and kept a prayer rug in his locker. He was proud of his religion. Caner notes, "Every Muslim child learns about the scales. The scales are terrifying. The Koran says if your scales are heavy, you will live in paradise; but if your scales are light, you will find perdition. You have to be 51% righteous to get to paradise." The balance scales compare the good deeds to the bad deeds. So, Caner lived by the 5 pillars of Islam...

There is only one way...in view of the above balance scales...of eternal assurance of paradise according to Islam: to die a martyr! "The 19 men who executed the 9/11 attacks on the USA weren't great Muslims...they were desperate Muslims." It had come to Caner clearly: "I realized Jesus strapped Himself to the cross so I didn't have to strap myself to a bomb."

His Life Since Jesus Came In:

Caner's father disowned him when he told him about his new faith in Christ. That was the last time he saw his father for 17 years! Harsh? Caner notes, "It's not that bad. The Koran says, 'If anyone changes his Islamic religion, kill him.' In 38 countries around the world, that is exactly what happens. But my father didn't kill me; he just disowned me." That church and its members became his family.

Eventually, both of his brothers, his mother, and his grandmother came to faith in Jesus (his dad died a Muslim). He became professor of theology and church history at Liberty University. Ergun Caner is the President of Liberty Theological Seminary at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. When Caner was named to the position in 2005, he became the first former Muslim to become the leader of an evangelical seminary.

As an aside to this testimony, you might be interested in Muslims for Jesus and a note about the extreme objection of Muslims to the truth that Jesus was crucified on the cross

Journey to Hope